


A Name (And what's behind it)

by ARandomReaderGuy



Category: Magic: The Gathering
Genre: For the war of the spark, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Nicol Bolas thinks he's clever, Spoilers, but he isn't
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-03-17 08:36:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18961687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ARandomReaderGuy/pseuds/ARandomReaderGuy
Summary: Nicol Bolas has been through many things in his lifetime, but this situation might just top all of them. No backups or preplanned scheme's will save him this time, and all he has to rely on his himself





	1. A start

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: My first story! So I could use any and all comments on what you think of it, haha. As in the tags, this story directly takes place after the "War of the Spark" Novel, but i am making minor adaptions to it and the universe

The lack of magic was the most serious, pressing issue.

 

The natural healing of his muscles was of course infuriatingly slow, and his vision had yet to become as sharp as it had once been, but those were minor problems.

Even the relative weakness of his body was something that could be improved. He calculated, with his current state, it would take something like a year or so’s time to get to as strong as he could become, relatively.

 

Not that it would have been as strong as his prime, but it made no difference with the lack of magic.

 

Frustrated, he tore into the buck he had caught with more force than necessary, crunching even bones. Eating it like this made the taste worse, but he had little other ways to vent his frustration {He would not throw a tantrum in front of Ugin again.}

 

All problems, solutions, schemes ideas; all were useless in the face of not having magic. He had perhaps thought it would come back in time, but that proved to not be true. Likewise, Ugin could be suppressing it, but if that was the case, he would have had an _inkling_ by now of its feel, but instead it was just: Nothing

 

Dead  
  
……Quiet.  
  
It was maddening. He might have been stronger as a whelp, and that was the most insulting part, after _everything_!

 

The only remains of his kill were grizzle and blood and he pulled back in disgust, pacing.  
  
So, he needed to get magic back. Such a thing was tricky, but it would be entirely possible _If he wasn’t on this blasted plane!_

 

Ugin’s power meant all the leylines were totally inaccessible to him, any blood magic or rituals by animals were pointless as they didn’t even have their own mana, and there were no gods or demons to appeal to or make deals with, if he got that low.  
  
  
In fact……….A terrible thought occurred to him, causing him to cease his pacing. In fact, why was he allowed to roam free? Prison or not, having him mobile, even providing animals and water and the like, was all a risk. Ugin was smart enough not to kill him, but it would have been much easier and simpler to put him to sleep.  
  
Or, he thought with a sudden chill, keep him locked up and awake, torture him. He had thought of this earlier, of course, but, out of any other options, he was forced to reconsider _why_ he had as much freedom as he did.

 

It wasn’t out of fear, the dragon begrudgingly thought, as Ugin was as close of a match as he had found across any world. He stood no chance physically, and no magic or servants to chance for retribution, so why?  
  


The only one who had answers, he grimly concluded, was the Sprit Dragon himself.


	2. A Talk (and a plan)

Ugin was much the same as he looked when they both arrived on this blasted plane, like the colors of the world themselves found him too offensive to be near. Even more blasted was that, even without magic, the dragon could still feel the cursed warmth of his brothers’ spark, it’s infernal glow.

 

Still, this was a time to gather information, so being at least pleasant would be required.  
  
“Still sitting here, I see. Pondering the mysteries of the universe?” The dragon called. Still too mocking, he thought. Oh well.

“Merely thinking of ways to sooth the hurt of old friends, scatted across the planes” Ugin replied smoothly, Ugins’ subtle reminders of what he had lost rankled the unnamed dragon.  
  
Before he could even retort Ugin cut to the heart of the issue. “So, such a time has come that you have finally come to ask.”  
  
“I have no idea what you are on about”  
  
“Come now, brother, it is entirely obvious as to your thought process. Your magic has not come back, you have lost your names, and weakness lies in your bones. The last two issues could be overcome, but not the first, and I am the only other being here. That you would come to seek from me is natural”  
  
Blast him, the dragon thought, but it was true. “I could have easily come to check if you were still around, or alive. And even I am not immune to boredom, _Brother”_

 

“That you have multiple reasons for each action just proves me right. Still….” With that, Ugin finally deigned to look at the other dragon.  
“Come now, ask away. We have all the time in the world, you and I, ask what you will”  
  
“Just like that, reveling your hand? I’d thought you wiser than this” The dragon snorted. Still, such would be immensely helpful, but the only lines of logic he could think of were either Ugin was discounting him totally as a threat, or that he thought there was actually some secret he could hide, and telling mostly truths would divert him.

 

“Even as arrogant as you are, you have realized you are no threat to me. If you should spend the rest of your years sulking, this shall be a very dull time for me, and I can think of no other means to garner your interest”  
  
Nary a flick of his tail or a twitch of a claw betrayed him, but the dragon had known Ugin quite well (before he killed him, that is). At best he could figure, he was being truthful. Being right was nice, even if what it meant was infuriating.

 

“Why change the meditation realm so, and why give me free rein?” He asked. There is no better way to test this truthfulness than asking the hard-hitting questions, after all.

 

“The same reason I went through all the trouble to keep you alive. You most certainly had backups for many potential problems, but being imprisoned with no magic and no spark was never one of them.”  
  
That made sense, and the respect given to him was well warranted. (The dragon had no intention of telling his brother that by now all of his backup plans were worthless). Before he could comment, Ugin continued;

“And as for free rein, you are right in that keeping you bound, or even say, removing a couple of your limbs and leaving you like that for the rest of your life would be safer”  
  
A sudden chill brushed through the dragon, though Ugin had made no movements. It was galling ~~and frightening~~ to be reminded to such a degree of his helplessness.

 

“Yet, even for all that you have done, even killing me, you are still my brother. This is the last thing I can give to you, to let the last part of your life pass in peace, at least”

 

 

 

 

 

 

That was informative, at least, even if being reminded of how far he had fallen made him want to kill his stupid brother a second time and make sure it _stuck._ He got as far as he reasoned he could, without going too far as to seem any more suspicious than anything else. Not that there was anywhere to go, but it’s what he would’ve done, so assuming Ugin was of a similar mind was not that far of a stretch.

 

To still be so sentimental for such a time passed was a weakness, sure, but how to exploit it? No simple trick this could be, it had taken much plotting to kill Ugin the first time, and he was sorely lacking many advantages he had then.

 

Even more, there was no margin for error. The jab was pointed enough for that, any failed attempt would indeed leave him bound for the rest of his natural life, or worse.

And to top it all off, Ugin was no rube, no simple fool like most of the blasted “Gateseers” or whatever name they called themselves. He had more or less orchestrated all of this, after all, and even brought himself back in such a way that he didn’t think of. He had to conceive of a way to fool both him and his magic, without the aid of any minions, or magic of his own.

 

 

The following weeks were… troubling. The problem seemed to have no solution, and the exercises necessary to get him back into top shape were grueling, leaving his already foul temper exacerbated.

Even a time razing whatever he could left him feeling no better, with the knowledge that the fact that there _was anything to raze at all_ was because of Ugin.

 

If only I was Nicol Bolas still! The dragon thought. Oh, to be at the height of his power again, before the mending! Or to have finished the Elderspell in its entirety, to be a god again! To have mere echo’s send shiver’s through lesser beings, to have plans within plans, to have his Name-

And here, a thought occurred to the dragon. It was not like one of the plans he made in the past, with notes and possibilities whirring and twisting. It was the despite thoughts of someone who had nothing left to lose.

 

I have no name. He thought, thinking over ~~the pain, to have lost everything he was, to be someone no longer~~ but, what if I had one?

 

What if I got Ugin to name me?

 

What that would mean is terrifying. For a being like him, to give over so much of himself for someone else to mold……

But what other choice did he have? Even if he waited decades, he would not suppose Ugin any more foolish then than now, and there was no other source of escape.

 

Allowing Ugin so much control over…himself was the only way to get him comfortable, to get him lax enough to drop his guard. Better, it would also be a plausible cover for interacting with Ugin once again.

Even with a crazy and despite plan, he felt better already. The details could come later, he had plenty of time, but even the simple idea of something to hope towards was calming, and being in control of himself was the best way to think of more plots


	3. Beginning of Action

Honesty was his most powerful weapon, here, The dragon thought as he yet again approached Ugin’s lair. There are nearly too many spells to count that could detect falsehoods, and while Ugin would suspect him no matter what he did, if he could get him to draw the wrong conclusion, that would make things easier.

 

And in a way, that plan was freeing. As Nicol Bolas, the dragon spoke the truth when he was too powerful to stop, so doing so now invoked those same sorts of feelings.

 

This time Ugin appeared to have just woken up. Vaguely interesting as though that was, there would be time later to ponder that.

 

 

 

“And here I find you again. Have you forgotten your duties as a warden? This is the _Prison Plane,_ as you called it. If your content to stay in your hole you might as well let me roam free.”  
  
“If I were to leave, would you be able to find me?” Ugin even had the audacity to yawn, as he already found their conversation boring. “Still, this is sooner than I thought you’d return.”

 

It was sooner than he’d thought he’d return himself, but if things like that caught Ugin off guard, he’d have to do more of them. “You said yourself that you’re the only other being here, perhaps you should listen to yourself.”  


Controlling his sneer, the dragon attempts to pull back his disdain. “I am up, and your are up, now come out of there and go flying with me, Ugin.”

 

“Flying?” Ugin finally rises, stretching. “Interesting request. Might I ask why?”

 “It’s not like there are any new sights to see in this blasted place, and you’d be more foolish than I thought if I could reach the pools by flying alone. Mocking your flying will at least be _something._ ”

 

He looked entirely unconvinced, but the dragon didn’t really think Ugin would ever believe anything he said, anyway. As long as he came, that would be enough.

 

…….The stare was beginning to become annoying. How long was he just going to stand there, staring? Time may be of little consequence for him, but he wasn’t going to simply stand here forever for him to think of a clever reply!  


  
The stare broke as Ugin lowered his head, and started chuckling. “Oh, I have forgotten how impatient you used to be”  


  
Even as he fumed from that remark, remembering that Ugin could indeed read minds was a sobering thought. It would be easy enough to think *around* what he needed to, but if he was discovered already, the jig would be up. Still, this was his only chance, so no point dwelling on that.

 

“Bah! Hurry up then, I don’t exactly have forever anymore, _as you keep reminding me.”_ He spits, turning and stomping away.

 

 

 

The mountain was tall. It wasn’t something normally worth considering, even injured, but it could be the case no longer. As Nicol Bolas, everything seemed small. What is a mountain when you can create an entire plane, after all? Yet, now it was something that was impossible not to notice.  
  


 

 

 

“Did you not bring me up here to fly? Or were you perhaps hoping to shove me off the edge, and pray I forgot how to?” Ugin’s dry comment caused the dragon to re-focus his attention on his brother, and sneer.

 

“Oh, do be quiet. There was merely a couple of things I needed to consider before starting.” The dragon then huffed. “I’m not so _impatient_ that I would both make a fool of myself and injure a wing”

 For some inane reason, Ugin seemed to soften slightly at this. “You do not have to worry about the lack of magic effecting your flight. Your still alive, after all.”  


 

The dragon gulped. Admittedly, small details like that may have been forgotten in light of more pressing issues, and having UGIN be the one remind was both insulting and _not reassuring at all_.

 

Nicol Bolas would have jumped already. The thought came to the dragon suddenly, and with that he shook whatever fears he had away. He couldn’t very well disappoint who he used to be, now could he?  
  
“For Bolas” The dragon whispered, and fell  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey. Not dead. No promises on when I'll update, but i'm still into this story, so. yea


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